Rosatom, IAEA sign agreement on nuclear knowledge management

Personnel training for the atomic sector should be carried out under the auspices of the International Atomic Energy Organization

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VIENNA, September 18 (Itar-Tass) —— Russia’s state nuclear corporation Rosatom and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on Monday signed practical agreements in the area of nuclear knowledge management.

Also on Monday, the IAEA and Russia’s National Nuclear Research University signed a framework cooperation agreement. Both agreements provide for broader cooperation in personnel training and knowledge transfer in the nuclear sector.

“Now the scale of the development of the global nuclear energy sector has practically returned to the pre-Fukushima level [i.e. before the accident at Japan’s Fukushima-1 nuclear plant in 2011], which means that many nuclear plants and other facilities are being built,” said Sergei Kiriyenko of Rosatom.

In his words, there are no such problems as the shortage of uranium of technical aspects. “The only problem is training of specialists, the transfer of knowledge. There is nothing more serious than that,” he stressed.

He illustrated his words by an example when he had met with partners from one of the countries that was planning to build its first nuclear plant. They had to postpone the launch of the nuclear plant because of the lack of highly-qualified personnel. “Personnel training for the atomic sector should be carried out under the auspices of the International Atomic Energy Organization,” he said.

According to Kiriyenko, the number of foreign students studying at the Russian National Nuclear Research University is growing year by year. In 2012 alone, their number went up by 200. The university trains students from Turkey, Vietnam, Bangladesh, Mongolia and other countries.